Patent Application
20100300479
This invention relates generally to appliances for applying skin treatment formulations to the facial skin area of the body, and more particularly concerns a replaceable applicator tip assembly which fits on to a drive end of the appliance motor.
In an electric power appliance capable of applying various skin formulations, including skin treatment formulations, to a selected skin area, such as the facial skin area of the body, the applicator tip which actually contacts the skin with the formulation has a relatively short life and hence requires replacement from time to time. Such an applicator tip must have a very soft forward portion to maintain comfortable contact with the user's skin when applying the formulation. A user who experiences discomfort will be unlikely to continue to use the appliance. The applicator tip must also be readily securable to and removable from a drive end of the appliance motor. The replaceable applicator tip must reliably couple with the motor drive end so as to withstand an oscillating action of the motor drive without resulting in substantial noise or lost motion. The applicator assembly shown and described herein accomplishes such desired objectives.
Accordingly, disclosed herein is an applicator tip assembly for use in an appliance for applying skin formulations, comprising: a base portion, sufficiently rigid to be insertable onto and removable from a drive end of a motor for the appliance and to move with the action of the motor drive end; and a tip portion which is sufficiently soft to provide comfortable contact with the facial skin of a user, wherein the base portion and the tip portion are securely mated so that they move together by action of the motor.
Removably mounted on the motor drive end member is an applicator tip assembly shown generally at 24 in
In general, the applicator tip assembly, shown herein in several embodiments, includes a tip portion which comes into direct contract with the skin of the user when applying the skin formulations, and must be very soft in order to preserve comfortable contact between the tip portion and the user. The applicator tip assembly also includes a base portion which must be rigid enough to attach firmly to the drive end member of the motor; once attached, the applicator tip assembly must remain sufficiently tightly coupled to the drive end member of the motor to withstand the oscillating action of the resonating motor, without lost motion or creating significant noise, resulting in quiet, reliable operation. Further, the applicator tip assembly as a unit must be easy to install onto and remove from the drive end member without the use of special tools or complicated maneuvering of the assembly. The applicator tip assembly is thus conveniently replaceable. Installation and removal of successive applicator tip assemblies must not damage the drive end element of the motor. In all the embodiments herein, the applicator tip assembly is designed to flex when installed or removed from the drive end member of the motor. This insures that the more rigid appliance motor is not damaged by repeated tip assembly installations and removals. Still further, the soft tip portion is arranged and secured to the base portion so that the two will not separate during operation of the appliance.
Referring now in the embodiment of
Tapering slightly outwardly from the inner ends of rounded edges 36 and 38 are tapered surfaces 40 and 42, defining a second taper 43. The combination of the two tapers 27 and 43 permits a secure attachment between the applicator tip assembly and the drive end member of the motor, while at the same time permitting the applicator tip assembly to be conveniently installed and then removed, as described more specifically below.
The other portion of the tip assembly is a base portion shown generally at 52. In this embodiment, base portion 52 material is flexible, but not particularly soft. A high or low density polyethylene is suitable, as well as other comparable materials. The base portion 52 includes a lower element 56 having a central opening 58. The lower element also includes four equally spaced holes 60-60 outboard of opening 58, the purpose of which is to allow trapped air to escape during the casting process and allow the casting material to fill and adhere to the interior vertical walls of base portion 52.
The lower member 56 is flexible enough to permit the base portion 52 of the applicator tip assembly to be readily inserted onto protrusion 24. Opening 58 is somewhat smaller than the largest diameter dimension of rounded edges 36 and 38, so that when the applicator tip assembly is pushed past the first taper 27 to the point where the lower surface of the base portion abuts surface 55 of the drive end of the motor (
Extending upwardly from the upper surface of the lower element 56, outboard of opening 58, is a ring or cylinder 62, to which the soft tip portion 46 is either molded or cast, which results in a secure connection between the two portions of the assembly, i.e. so that the tip portion and the base assembly are securely joined and hence do not separate during normal oscillating action of the drive end member of the motor.
A second embodiment, shown in
In this embodiment, base portion 76 is inserted onto protrusion 70 until lower ring surface 81 of the base portion abuts surface 82 of the motor drive end member. In this position, the side edges of the first tapered portion are within the ribbed ring member 80 then rotated through an angle in the range of 30-60°, with a preferred angle of 45°, which latches the applicator tip assembly onto the protrusion by an interference fit between ribs 79 and the edges of the first taper of protrusion 70. When the applicator tip assembly is to be removed for replacement, the tip assembly is rotated in the opposite direction the same amount and then pulled away from the protrusion.
Another embodiment is shown in
The lower edge portions 102 of the three vertical legs are rounded and extend slightly into the cylindrical opening 104 defined partially by the vertical legs 100, as well as slightly outboard of the remainder of the vertical legs, as shown most clearly in
The tip portion 90 is molded or cast onto the upper part of inner ring 94 of base portion 92, securing the two parts together. When the applicator tip assembly is to be removed, longitudinal force is exerted outwardly on the applicator tip assembly, which results in the vertical legs 100 being temporarily spread outwardly, permitting the applicator tip assembly to be removed from protrusion 84.
Hence, a replaceable applicator tip assembly for use with an applicator for skin formulations has been disclosed. It includes a tip portion which is securely molded or cast onto a base portion, with the tip portion being quite soft so as to provide comfort and efficacy when in contact with the user's skin. The base portion of the applicator tip assembly is relatively rigid, permitting a secure, dynamic connection with the drive end element from the applicator motor, while at the same time permitting convenient installation and removal of the tip assembly onto the protrusion. As indicated above the tip applicator assembly is conveniently replaceable, since the life of the applicator is considerably longer than the life of the tip assembly. The tip assembly is easy to install and remove, without the need for tools, yet is secure when installed, without loss of motion and providing quiet operation. Several embodiments have been disclosed for accomplishing this combination of desired functions.
Although a preferred embodiment has been disclosed for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that various changes and modifications and substitutions could be made in the preferred embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims which follow:
